Hero's essay

AS Applied Media Coursework: Close Analysis:

‘Hero’

During lessons we have been looking at how you can interpret a piece of media text, in this case it has been a film. In this unit our class has been allocated the task of analysing a clip from the 2002 film ‘Hero’, directed by Zhang Yimou. The chosen clip was watched numerous times to identify the way it is constructed and why. Moreover, notes had to be constructed to allow the class to create an analytic piece of the clip about the technical codes and conventions. This includes camera shots and angles, editing, mise-en-scene, lighting and colour and sound. In this essay I will attempt to identify the above conventions and the meanings they create.

‘Hero’ begins with a voiceover which quickly sets the scene putting the audience in the know as it tells the audience of when this event is happening. This sets a pace to the plot line as it quickly gets the audience to integrate with the location and the current matters.

The shot begins with an extreme close-up of a metal rod used to move the counters on the classical Chinese game of checkers, and then it zooms out to show the board itself and pans upwards towards the first character. The audience is introduced to the two checker players in the opening scene. The first character shown in a mid-shot is seen wearing clothes in different shades of orange. The colour orange is significant to the character as it portrays his persona even before he speaks. The colour orange symbolizes peace in Buddhism, one of the dominant religions in China, because it is the colour of the clothing for monks. Furthermore, this reflects his importance to the film and enables the audience to instantly recognize his significance; thus permeating his leadership and power. In addition the audience also learns that the nameless protagonist “has a love for music and chess”, which depicts the intellectual side of his persona.

In addition, the audience is introduced to character 2, who the audience may presume is the villain because of his dark attire which is highlighted in the close-up used. Moreover, the close-up used to capture character 2’s deep set features which seem to be set in a permanent scowl that reflects his dark persona. The close-up fully encapsulates his frustration towards the nameless protagonist in the sequence of cuts during their dialogue as every time the camera is focused on him the audience can see his features gradually getting dark enough to resemble his attire. Also, the way the shots have been cut together makes the clip itself faster because the audience can see both perspectives of the dialogue and by having it in a close-up at eye-level, the audience will always see the effect the other characters speech is having on the other. Subsequently, character 2 stands up at the end of the dialogue and the camera angle changes to a high-angle shot of character 2. This angle is used to portray the oppressive superiority that character has at that moment over the nameless protagonist.

The game of checkers itself is momentous to the two characters as it is a strategic two player game as it encompasses war tactics with strategic intelligence. This is portrayed using an extreme close-up at the start of the clip. This sets the scene immediately and allows the audience to familiarize with the location. This foreshadows later events in the clip and also depicts the personas of the two protagonists due to the black and white counters which could connote ‘Good vs. Evil’. This is one of the main features of eastern martial arts films as they are usually based around the central theme of ‘Good vs. Bad’. Due to these connotations, the audience can fully integrate with the film, taking on a broader perspective of what is shown.

The setting of the clip seems to be in a temple-like location. The colours of the surrounding architecture are bland colours like off-white, grey and charcoal. All colours reflect the tranquillity of the location and by doing so makes it more spiritual. Furthermore, the diegetic sound which is the harp played by the old man, envelopes the audience into the world of this film. The mise-en-scene of the film indicates a depressed atmosphere. The close-ups of clothing, long-shots of the temple, the group’s shots of character 2 and his army all insinuate a dark and sombre atmosphere. The dull colours used make the clip more depressingly profound to the audience.

The weather in the clip is overcast, rainy and miserable which denotes the lack of freedom that the protagonist faces. This is because white connotes purity, peace and liberation yet by having the clip set on this type of day it’s as if, the purity is being poisoned by something evil. The theme of evil stems from the Chinese culture where superstitions thrive amongst the townspeople. This creates automatic recognition for the audience as they can work out that some sort of combat or feud will emerge.

Secondly, the audience also can sense that something was to disrupt the tranquillity because in the wide-shot of character 2 placing a head-band on his head and tying it, the audience sees behind him from a POV shot of the nameless protagonist, that the rest of character 2’s men are imitating his movements in a precise unison. The group shot permits the audience to feel the solidarity between character 2 and his men, creating a sense of unease as the audience awaits an attack of some sort.

The sound at this point in the shot is enhanced and the sound of the rain drops is amplified to an unsettling volume this increases the tension as the nameless protagonist awaits the attack.

To then reinforce this, the ‘twang’ noise produced by the harp-like instrument of the old man could on the one hand be depicted as a disruption to the tranquillity because as the atmosphere grows more intense the music also becomes louder. On the other hand, the sharp ‘twang’ could furthermore add to the spirituality of the location, because it is also associated with the monks at the temples as they play musical instruments to calm themselves and pervade the atmosphere with tranquillity.

The fight scene in this clip confirms the suspicions of the audience that the director has insinuated towards throughout the beginning of the clip using the game of checkers, the exchange in provocative dialogue from character 2, and the gloomy weather. It begins with a wide group shot of character 2 and his army reflecting their solidarity. Conversely, it is followed by another wide-shot of the nameless protagonist which depicts his unaided strength. By having both characters in wide-shots although the nameless protagonist is alone it draws comparison between their strengths even though the nameless protagonist is outnumbered. The music begins again however is ceased to a halt by the amplified sound of character 2 unsheathing his sword. This makes the silence distilling however; the silence is also disrupted by the clash of the sword against the spear. This again fuels the tension in the audience and increases apprehension. Consequently, the action has reduced the tempo of the actual speed, drawing it out more and increases the adrenaline released into the audience. The gradual build-up of suspense reflects the control the director is able to have over the audience making it more enticing for the audience. The fight it self is sped up and makes the strikes from each character more deadly using amplified sound as it strikes metal. It is kept in a wide-shot which enables the audience to see everything. Also when bigger moves are executed onto character 2 it is slowed down to show the full impact of the blow on the opponent.

When character 2 and two of his men are defeated the rest of his army steps in and the shot is filmed from the right of the army and when they run towards the nameless protagonist it is a high mid-shot which captures the fury in their eyes, revealing to the audience the extent to their anger. The director then shoots the film in all angles and the camera moves all the way around the location and then in an aerial shot of the location to show every angle of the fight itself. This allows the audience to get full coverage of scenario. The final moves the nameless protagonist then executes onto the remaining men is hot in mid-shot and this allows us to see where his attacks are aimed, which is in the most fragile parts of the body e.g. by the ribs. The fight is then over as the armies weapons are futile against the nameless protagonist’s skill, they line up and bow to him and this is shot in mid-shot yet when the camera cuts to the nameless protagonist he is in high angle to show that he holds final superiority against character 2 and is army. At their defeat they all form a line shot in a wide-shot and the camera fades into a pan and it becomes a tracking shot following the path of the nameless protagonist as he attempts to leave the temple. But the camera is diverted to another character who is introduced at the end, everything about this character out the audience on an edge he is introduced in long-shot which shows his body language which is in a readied fighting stance to suggest that a fight is again yet to erupt. As he moves the camera is at a low angle shot of his feet, with amplified sound of the water splashing as his feet part the water. As he gets closer to character two the shot zooms closer and closer into his face to show the fear and anticipation that character two is feeling. The camera pans and cuts getting higher and higher showing him unsheathe his sword and then it is in a high-angle as he leaps into the air. The sequence is very significant because it is as if it a detailed description of the new character’s physical composition. This allows the audience to draw comparison between the two.

Character is clearly unsettled by this attack as the audience sees this in his face as his emotions are projected through his eyes and with each strike made it him he grows more an more unsettled. However, the audience learns that the new character is of a similar strength to character 2 as both of them are in mid-air executing difficult attacks at one another, while the camera does a 360 move around this shot to encapsulate the full extent of this fight scene and to portray the full ferocity of it.

The sound has completely changed and the sharp twang of the harp like instrument is replaced by the enhanced clash sounds of the metal, which is then also replaced by a violin type music which grows intense as the characters both charge towards each other. The music reaches its peak and the tempo of the fight is increased. This makes the fight more dramatic and it embeds the audience deep with in the tension of the film.

The clip ends in a voice over the same way it began depicting the continuous cycle that the characters embarked upon to begin with. It also allows the audience to remain in the know of the characters thought. With out completing the film the 5 minute clip alone is self-explanatory and the audience understands that the plot of the film will be based against the foundations of these first events.